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In a year that spurred the massive growth of OTT, let’s take a look at how some of the most-expected films turned out to be.
THE GEMS
The Great Indian Kitchen
This Malayalam film without stars, made with a small budget, was rejected by Amazon Prime Video. It came out on a small platform called Neestream and within a couple of days; the movie’s word of mouth was strong. Every part of India was speaking about the film. Director Jeo Baby’s take on feminism and toxic masculinity was hard-hitting.
Jai Bhim
The Tamil film, starring Suriya, was as strong as its title. It made us think and urged us to respond to the film. You either got angry or emotional at the end of it and not many films do that. It’s an important film that upholds the essence of our constitution.
Family Man 2
This was widely awaited because everybody wanted to know what happened in Khandala. The first season of this espionage thriller had ended on a cliffhanger but surprisingly, in the second season, we had a rustic Samantha fighting a different battle. The action moved from Bombay to South India. The cultural differences were explored well and the brilliant casting helped. This was an enjoyable film with great performances.
Tabbar
I compare this Hindi web series with the blockbuster Malayalam film Drishyam 2. Both had the narrative of how far a person can go to save his family. In Tabbar, the main character was a family bearer, an ex-military man and the incidents that unfold forces him to take care of his family. The way he handled the situation was different from the street-smart George Kutty of Drishyam. In Tabbar, he had seen the battlefield and handled problems in a different way. This was a very engrossing film with great performances from Pawan Malhotra and Surpiya Pathak, which took us back to the Doordarshan days.
Sardhar Udham Singh
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is an important story to be known. Films such as ‘Gandhi’ had a reference to the incident. This movie started in a different way and then came to the central theme. People called the screenplay manipulative. Yet the atmospheric feel and Vicky Kaushal’s acting made it a fine film.
THE DUDS
Navarasa and anthologies
Indian cinema was obsessed with anthologies. ‘Ankahi Kahaniya’ and ‘Ray’ in Hindi and ‘Pitta Kathalu’ in Telugu and ‘Navarasa’ in Tamil were major duds. It’s surprising because the names involved in these projects were experienced ones. Wild Tales, the Argentine black comedy, is the benchmark for anthologies. It is done by a single director and there is terrific uniformity and intensity.
Jagame Thandhiram
This was a big let down because the combination of Dhanush and Karthik Subbaraj had aroused immense curiosity. Add to it, the film was majorly shot in the UK. Dhanush is open for playing any kind of roles. While he expectedly does well here, the writing fails big time. It was a flamboyantly shot and that’s the only other positive of this dull ride.
Irul
Fahadh Faasil has a huge following in states such as Assam and Bengal. He is an OTT star. Naturally, ‘Irul’ was eagerly awaited. Somehow, this Malayalam fell flat. Fahadh’s attempt at horror didn’t pay dividends and the actor rightly admitted that the film was a mistake.
Bob Biswas
Bob Biswas was a character that appeared in the 2012 hit ‘Kahaani. Though it comes for just eight minutes, Saswata Chatterjee’s performance was so good that it gave us chills. Abhishek Bachchan’s version of the character was underwhelming because it doesn’t tell its backstory. People wanted to know that.
Meenakshi Sundareshwar
The film team’s didn’t the understan the sensibilities of south Indian people. They had to research to bring in authenticity. People won’t believe what you show.
Other mention: Thandav: A Bollywoodised screenplay stretched into a web series.
Special mention: The Malayalam film Thinkalazcha Nischayam was a sweet and personal film that impressed people.
TOP FIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE SHOWS
Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Money Heist (Netflix)
Squid Game (Netflix)
The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
Loki (Disney+Hotstar)
(The writer is a movie enthusiast and a consulting curator for the Bengaluru International Film Festival).